Two studies have been carried out to address the question of whether patterns of parent-infant interaction differ in families in which the mother is employed or a homemaker. In the first study, mother, father and first-born infants wer observed at 3 and 12 months in single and dual wage earner families. Data collection and analyses of the 3 month data have been completed. Recent work has focused on analyses of the 12 month data. Observations of mother, father and infant interacting at 12 months revealed diminished rates of focused social interaction centering around objects in dual wage earner families, as well as lower rates of infant smiling in this group. Sons in dual wage earner families received particularly low rates of object-related stimulation. Mothers who had resumed employment fairly recently showed heightened rates of behavior relative to their husbands, whereas those who had returned to employment at least 9 months prior to observation showed only minimal indications of such a pattern. In a second study, the question of whether mother-infant interaction changes in association with the transition to employment is addressed. Observations of mothers and their three-month-old infants have been carried out before and after mothers returned to employment, and compared to observations of homemaker mothers with their infants at the same two ages. This design allows examination of the question of whether a mother's employment intentions as well as status influence mother-infant interaction. Observations for this study have just been completed. Analyses of the data are now underway.